March 09, 2011

Council for Court Excellence announces awards

The Council for Court Excellence has awarded its annual Justice Potter Stewart Award to Peter Edelman, professor at Georgetown University Law School, and Donald Santarelli, former U.S. Department of Justice senior official who now works in private practice.

The award, named for the late U.S. Supreme Court justice, recognizes individuals and organizations whose work has made a significant contribution to the law, legal system or administrative process.

Edelman has been a member of the faculty at Georgetown since 1982. His area of expertise is constitutional law. During President Clinton’s first term, he took leave to serve as counselor to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala, and then as assistant secretary for planning and evaluation. He now serves as chairman of the District of Columbia Access to Justice Commission, the Public Welfare Foundation and the National Center for Youth Law. He’s a member of several other nonprofit organizations.

“I’m very pleased. I feel honored. I have great respect for the Council for Court Excellence and all of the wonderful work that they do, so it’s a special honor to be recognized by them,” Edelman said.

Santarelli concentrates on federal and state legislative, regulatory and enforcement matters. He serves as chairman of the National Committee on Community Corrections and president of the Center for Community Corrections. Santarelli is a former federal prosecutor.

Mary Ann Luby, an advocate for the homeless in Washington, will also be honored during the awards ceremony in May. Luby died of cancer on Nov. 29. Luby was an outreach worker for the nonprofit Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless.

"She was just a wonderful, wonderful person. She was a good friend and it was an enormous loss when she passed away," Edelman said